Chapter 927: Tree Ancestor Looks After

The Laurel Immortal Palace is meticulous in its affairs. They wouldn't dissect the demon rabbit simply to eat it; they would at least wait to confirm if the meat was poisonous before consuming it.

The disciples of the Immortal Palace eagerly volunteered for the task of dissecting the demon rabbit. Their actions—washing pots, chopping vegetables, and boiling water—were remarkably skilled, suggesting it wasn't their first time performing such a task.

"Do you need a chef?" Immortal Fairy thought it was time to demonstrate her abilities. She enthusiastically volunteered, eager to recreate the culinary artistry of immortals.

Letting Immortal Fairy cook was out of the question. Her barbecues on the moon, for instance, had once poisoned four ancient immortals into unconsciousness. The Fairy had to carry them home, leaving the immortal fire on the moon. The disciples of the Immortal Palace were mere mortals and certainly couldn't endure such potent immortal toxins.

A direct refusal was not an option. Lu Yang, with his meticulous mind and quick wit, quickly devised a response. As the saying goes, 'it's better to guide than to block.' Rejecting Immortal Fairy's offer might trigger her rebellious streak. The best approach was to find a chef who would satisfy her, and that chef could only be him.

"Your Majesty is of noble birth; how could you possibly undertake such a task? Allow your humble servant... allow *me* to do it." Lu Yang had recently been engrossed in the Immortal Palace's scripture library, particularly palace intrigue novels, causing him to almost blurt out the wrong word.

"Very well," Immortal Fairy agreed, finding Lu Yang's reasoning sound. As an emperor, personally handling every detail would diminish her status; it was better to entrust the task to 'little Yangzi.'

"Can I do the grilling later?" Lu Yang secretly transmitted a message to Lan Ting.

Lan Ting had already experienced Lu Yang's cooking skills in Yanjiang Prefecture. They were, without a doubt, absolutely superb. Now that Lu Yang had advanced to the Soul Transformation stage, his mastery over heat and meat quality must have reached a "microscopic" level, ensuring the flavor would be even better than before. Furthermore, she hadn't enjoyed Lu Yang's barbecue in quite some time.

"I'll speak to the head chef sister."

"Then let him try; I'd like to see what he's capable of!" the head chef sister retorted, clearly displeased.

After securing the cooking opportunity for Lu Yang, Lan Ting gleefully reported the good news to him. "The head chef sister agreed to let you try; she said she's also eager to witness your skills, Senior Brother."

"Is that truly what Senior Sister said?" Lu Yang asked, looking at Lan Ting suspiciously. Although he didn't habitually eavesdrop, he'd noticed the head chef sister's expression didn't look too good when Lan Ting went to speak with her earlier.

"More or less."

"That's good then." Lu Yang had worried his actions might have displeased the head chef sister.

The Immortal Palace operated with extreme efficiency. By the time the pots were washed, they had already determined why the demon rabbit had suddenly grown so large.

"It's the Beauty Pill reacting with the osmanthus flowers," Qin Nan summarized. "The Beauty Pill inherently has a growth-promoting effect, and for some unknown reason, freshly picked osmanthus flowers also possess this property. The superposition of these two factors led to the demon rabbit's massive increase in size."

"It also caused the demon rabbit to go berserk," a junior sister added, emphasizing it was a crucial point.

"Ah yes, it also caused the demon rabbit to go berserk."

"However, the good news is that the demon rabbit has metabolized all the medicinal properties, making its meat safe to eat, non-toxic, harmless, and healthy."

The fact that the demon rabbit was edible was good news, allowing Lu Yang to showcase his culinary skills. However, he still had a question: "Why does the Beauty Pill have a growth-promoting effect? Don't female cultivators take Beauty Pills to enhance their appearance?"

Posing such a question revealed Lu Yang's inexperience; all Immortal Palace disciples already knew the answer. Qin Nan explained, "There are two types of elixirs female cultivators frequently consume: the Face-Fixing Pill and the Beauty Pill. The Face-Fixing Pill preserves one's appearance, while the Beauty Pill alters it. Altering one's appearance involves two directions: enlargement or reduction. Some female cultivators possess exceptional talent and cultivate rapidly, reaching the Face-Fixing realm even in their youth, thereby preventing any further changes to their appearance. This leads to a dilemma: if their bodies haven't fully developed, they would then require the Beauty Pill."

Lu Yang suddenly understood. This was a realm he had never explored, and it indeed contained many intricacies.

"Consuming elixirs is nothing but a crooked path!" Immortal Fairy dismissed such objectionable practices with disdain. As the foremost of the Ten Ancient Beauties, she was certainly qualified to make such a statement. Unfortunately, her pronouncement as the foremost of the Ten Ancient Beauties failed to capture Lu Yang's attention; he was diligently absorbing knowledge related to Beauty Pills. While it might not prove directly useful, there was certainly no harm in acquiring more knowledge.

Lu Yang observed the demon rabbit, now bled and portioned, and began preparing the marinade base. To conserve time, Lu Yang opted for a rapid marination technique, ensuring the meat quickly absorbed the flavors.

"By the way, have any of you ever tried using a laurel tree as firewood for grilling?" Lu Yang asked while grinding the marinade base, considering that Immortal Fairy's grilling method also had its merits.

"Using a laurel tree as firewood?" Lan Ting paused, taken aback. It was an idea she had never entertained.

"Please wait a moment. I'll go ask the Tree Ancestor; if it agrees, then it's fine."

"The Laurel Tree Ancestor is conscious?" Lu Yang was utterly surprised. He had only ever thought the Laurel Tree Ancestor was merely exceptionally tall.

"It is conscious, though I've never seen it speak. My master says the Tree Ancestor is our Immortal Palace's most crucial trump card."

Noticing Lu Yang's interest, Lan Ting led him back into the depths of the laurel forest, where they encountered the towering Tree Ancestor, which seemed to reach the heavens. Lan Ting bowed three times to the Laurel Tree Ancestor. After performing a series of complex rituals, she respectfully inquired, "This disciple wishes to fell a laurel tree for firewood; I humbly ask the Tree Ancestor to grant this request."

A rustling sound. Enormous branches swayed without a breeze, emitting a soft rustle.

At this, Lan Ting excitedly looked up: "The Tree Ancestor has agreed!"

Lu Yang was surprised by how agreeable the Tree Ancestor was and also bowed three times to it.

With the Tree Ancestor's affirmative nod, the two began searching for a suitable laurel tree. The goal was to fell it in a single strike, so selecting one that was too thick would be embarrassing, while a tree too thin wouldn't provide sufficient firewood.

"This one should be about right," Lu Yang said, patting a nearby laurel tree. It was about one "he" thick.

"Isn't it too thick?" Lan Ting wondered to herself, knowing she wouldn't be able to fell a laurel tree of that girth.

"We'll know by trying," Lu Yang replied, drawing his Azure Edge Sword and tapping the laurel tree. He had never chopped down a laurel tree before, making this a completely new experience. With the Azure Edge Sword embodying the Myriad Swords Return to Origin, Lu Yang's gaze sharpened. He adopted a firm stance, pushed off the ground with his right foot, twisted his body to channel his full strength into the Azure Edge Sword, and let out a mighty roar!

"Slash!"

*CRACK!*

With a single swing, the Azure Edge Sword sank halfway into the tree trunk. It didn't cut through.

Lu Yang scratched his head. He had hoped to impress Lan Ting once more, but he had failed. Just as he was about to say something to alleviate the awkwardness, Lan Ting, to his surprise, pointed at the half-severed laurel tree.

"The laurel tree isn't healing!" This had never happened before!

Seeing this, Lu Yang swung his sword once more!

*CRACK!—THUD!*

The laurel tree toppled to the ground.

"That's odd. Did I cut it so quickly that the laurel tree didn't have time to heal?" Lu Yang mused, shouldering the laurel tree, clearly puzzled.

Immortal Fairy rolled her eyes. "What do you mean 'no time to heal'? It's clear the Laurel Tree Ancestor is deliberately controlling this particular laurel tree, preventing its healing."

"It's quite considerate of 'little Yangzi'."